My newest, most favoritest snack lately is Bread & Butter Pickles {recipe}. I just LOVE them!!
As I finished off the jar tonight, savoring every last morsel, I noticed that there was quite a bit of pickle juice (or “brine”) still left over. In my frugalness, I began wondering what I could do with that deliciously flavorful liquid. I’d hate to just pour it down the drain!
I figured there must be other uses for pickle juice. After a little searching, here is what I have found (via .ilovepickles.org):
- Mix it with your favorite barbecue sauce to intensify the tangy flavor. Add 2 tablespoons per 1 cup of sauce and combine well. Spread over grilled chicken during the last few minutes of cooking on the grill.
- For a delicious potato salad, add 3 tablespoons juice to ¾ cup mayonnaise and mix with 3 pounds of cooked potatoes. For a classic macaroni salad, add 3 tablespoons to ½ cup mayonnaise and mix with 2 cups of cooked macaroni.
- Use as a marinade to soak your favorite veggies in while refrigerating.
- Combine ¼ cup pickle juice with one jar of barbecue sauce and one large bag of little beef sausages in a crock pot. Heat thoroughly and serve in crock pot to keep warm.
- Use to marinate chicken. Add 1 cup juice to ½ cup olive oil, 1 clove minced garlic, and ¼ cup fresh chopped cilantro in a zip-lock bag. Add one pound of chicken, roll it in the liquid and marinate for 1 hour before grilling.
- Put sliced cucumbers, onions, carrots and/or pieces of cauliflower in leftover pickle juice and in a couple of days they will be pickled.
- Slip sliced onions into a jar of sweet-hot bread and butter pickle juice. The “pickled” onions liven up turkey, chicken or ham sandwiches, as well as hamburgers.
- Use leftover pickle juice to spice up deviled eggs, tuna salad and chicken salad.
- Being a strong acid, pickle juice can also be used as a weed killer!
- Drinking 1/4 c. of pickle juice has been found to help relieve muscle cramps. (source)
- Some claim that drinking 1-2 ounces of pickle juice stops the hiccups.
- There are actually recipes out there which call for the use of pickle juice, such as this one for Pickle Soup, and even this one for Pickle Bread!
A simple Google search for ‘uses for pickle juice’ will bring up tons of great ideas. So, the next time you are tempted to dump that juice down the drain, think about all of the ways that you could put it to good use instead!
Do you have any favorite uses for pickle juice?
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A city girl learning to homestead on an acre of land in the country. Wife and homeschooling mother of four. Enjoying life, and everything that has to do with self sufficient living.
I love this list of what to do with Pickle juice! I thought i was the only one who sadly starred at the empty jar and thought what a waste. I have used it to pickle carrots and onions. Works great. But i am going to try using it to marinate chicken. What a great idea. Thank You
Chad
I chop up 2 or 3 sweet pickle slices and add it to 1 can of tuna along with a spoon or so of miracle whip, then add a spoonful or two of the sweet pickle juice, yum-yum! Makes some great sandwiches.
Great article! My husband loves it when I slice up cucumbers for his lunch and put a little bit of sweet (or bread & butter) pickle juice in the snack ziploc bag. I think I’m going to try the egg idea though. I plan to bring strain the liquid and bring to a boil, then refrigerate. I think the final product will keep better?
One of the pickles I love to make is sweet chilli courgette (zucchini). The wonderful pickling flavour that doesn’t end up inside my husband becomes a wonderful viniagrette/salad dressing!
Great tips! Also, you can put peeled, hard boiled eggs and make pickled eggs!! I love them!
I suffer from GERD. Pickle juice is great for helping with acid reflux and even heartburn. The vinegar calms the stomach acids but pickle juice tastes better than drinking straight vinegar!
Pickle juice helps some people with reflux. My mother-in-law and my parents use it. My mother-in-law uses a certain kind of pickle juice though. My parents just use whatever.
Todd
I add pickle juice to my tuna for sandwhiches 🙂
I like marinating chicken in it and then making “chick fil a” sandwiches!
Ooh, Jessica! I LOVE Chick-Fil-A sandwiches. Great idea!!
When I was little, I had a friend whose mom used to freeze pickle juice in ice cube trays with toothpicks in them to make “pickle pops” for all the neighborhood kids in the summer. Just the thought of it sounds kind of gross now, but when I was little, we all loved them.
Also good to make coleslaw with. Just mix with miracle whip and you have your dressing!
Blessings!
i usually hardboil a couple of eggs and throw them in there in the fridge, couple of days later you have pickled eggs, and they taste great. i usually have kosher dill and not bread n butter though.